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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 92.4 pts. and median of 93 pts. in 51 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by PGIF on 2/11/2023 & rated 94 points: I don’t always drink California Cabernet, but when I do I prefer Ridge. This was just a beautiful bottle of wine, all elements in place, full of mature fruit, long tobacco and anise finish. I poured my 98-year-old mother a glass thinking I would get to finish it at the end of the evening but she drank the whole glass. That good. (1056 views) | | | Tasted by Cailles on 2/5/2023 flawed bottle: 30x California 1978: Ridge Monte Bello Flawed
So many wines from this great Californian vintage at the age of 45 certainly qualifies as a “once in a lifetime” event. A few observations: 1) The quality was very high (almost all my ratings above 90pts). And only four faulty wines (2x corked, 2x over the hill/flawed, sadly those two were the Ridge Monte Bello and the Phelps Insignia). 2) The wines are ready to drink, the tannins have melted but the tension and freshness remain high - across the board. 3) There is still lots of fruit left and I was surprised how most wines didn’t show lots of tertiary aromas (find me the Bdx 1982 without tertiary aromas!). IMO, more than a handful of the wines could continue to improve for a few years. 4) Style wise, these are obviously quite different from today’s Napa wines with much less ripeness and more mineral accents. But hardly any wine we had would be mistaken for a Bordeaux in a blind tasting (unlike 80s/90s Dominus). 5) Best reds: Inglenook Limited Cask, Beaulieu GDL Reserve, Stags Leap Cask 23 4.5l (all 96pts), Heitz Bella Oaks, Simi Reserve, Stag’s Leap Cask 23 0.75l (all 95pts). The best wine overall, however, was the magical Late Harvest Riesling from Phelps (98pts).
TN: Sadly flawed, intensely chemical on the nose. This is quite sad as the wine showed a lot of depth and intensity and could have been great. (1650 views) | | | Tasted by sirpat00 on 1/30/2023 & rated 92 points: Grand tasting of 1978 California wines, mostly from Napa. Main takeaways: i/ surprisingly high quality on average for wines that were not intended for such long-term aging with plenty of primary fruit left, ii/ but within the detail nonetheless a broad range with the worst few suffering from clear signs of fatigue while the best showed hardly age, iii/ top wines were Phelps Cab Sauv (97), Firestone Cab Sauv (95), and Beaulieu George de Latour Private Reserve (95). Full list sorted by score included in the tasting story.
Tasting note:
The fruit profile was characterized by a cooler, more red type of berries along with malt notes. The palate was fresh, had tension and structure and appeared in good balance. Nothing really to complain, but just didn’t tickle any nerves with me. (1259 views) | | | Tasted by G_H on 1/28/2023: 1978 California Cabernet Horizontal: Sweet, irish moss, cola, some leather and a hint of brett. More evolved than the last bottle of this. I'm not sure that this was a perfect bottle. (1154 views) | | | Tasted by Wine Canuck on 11/12/2022 & rated 95 points: An epic dinner of classic wines: This pours light ruby in the glass with medium bricking. The nose is lifted and complex evolving over the course of several hours. Highlights include charcoal, plums, whisps of vanilla, orange pekoe tea, celery salt, sweet old cedar, and mixed red and black currants. The palate is just lovely with bright red currants turning to medium minus tannin and medium plus acid. The finish lingers impressively on sweet cedar and black tea. Just an absolute classic here from ridge. Just a little behind the 1976 I had a few years back, but lovely all the same. (1767 views) | | | Tasted by racerchris on 4/1/2022 & rated 93 points: High shoulder fill. PnP. Nice color.
Surprisingly youthful. No way would I guess it was 42 years old.
Very nice, full bodied Cabernet with distinctive character. (1132 views) | | | Tasted by S1 on 11/7/2021: Chas Offlineorama VI, Another embarrassment of riches; 11/3/2021-11/7/2021 (Various locations): Soft dilly dark cherry with black pepper, cloves, and blood orange rind. A stunner, but no hurry to drink these. (1773 views) | | | Tasted by MC2 Wines on 11/7/2021: Charleston VI; 11/3/2021-11/7/2021 (Charleston, SC (various locations)): Fun to have twice in a week. This was very similar to the showing on Tuesday although given the rest of the line-up this stood out as the favorite. It's drinking very young for it's age (although in this line-up was clearly the oldest of the wines). Lots of sediment so ended up double-decanting it which helped a lot. A bit of heat. A lot of drying tannin. And some more red currant style. It is a very elegant wine. (1746 views) | | | Tasted by MC2 Wines on 11/2/2021: Ridge Monte Bello Retrospective (Porter House): A really interesting comparison point to some of the earlier wines. At this point in the tasting if I had been blinded I would have said this was the youngest of the group. It was one of the only ones with just a hint of heat/alcohol. Big and dark fruits. Not even close to being ready to drink - much more time. (1724 views) | | | Tasted by adnorthup on 10/21/2021: 1978 Diamond Creek and Monte Bello (MP Taverna, Irvington, NY): color showing a bit of age. Nose is a bit on the musty side. The wine still has acid, and the fruit is sweet and pure. Lacking much finish at first. (1483 views) | | | Tasted by G_H on 10/17/2021 & rated 96 points: From a perfect bottle, this was shining bright. Still quite youthful, dark berries, some mature notes, anhint of mint and some camomile. Delicious! (1222 views) | | | Tasted by Jeff Leve on 1/18/2020 & rated 93 points: Brick in color, with green olives, cedar, smoke, peppery spice and cassis on the nose. Fully mature, with a spicy, herb, tobacco and cherry core of fruit, the wine has lift, fruit, length and concentration. This is a classic example of California Cabernet Sauvignon drinking at peak. (3912 views) | | | Tasted by Kemo Sabe on 1/24/2018 & rated 94 points: Loads of cedar, spicebox, cedar closet, red berries, vanilla and some charcoal/ash on the nose. Very perfumed. Highly complex wine that is well integrated and put together at this stage. Old Cali Cab rocks. Great showing. (4001 views) | | | Tasted by tinybubbles on 10/16/2017 & rated 91 points: Ripe purple fruit on the sweet palate. White pepper, light wood notes, bell pepper. I was hoping for more depth and diversity on the palate. (4043 views) | | | Tasted by europat55 on 6/10/2017 & rated 92 points: Feels surprisingly young for a '78 (4441 views) | | | Tasted by Blake Brown on 5/2/2017 & rated 79 points: 1978 RIDGE SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAINS ESTATE CABERNET SAUVIGNON- the label says this is 100% Cab from the famous Monte Bello Vineyard although it was noted to be a red Bordeaux blend on the spreadsheet we were provided as well as on various websites I searched; nonetheless, this had a distinct earthy funky musty character in the nose which carried on with some nice black fruit appearing in the taste profile; this bottle reminded me of older right bank stuff on the down side; later on, many claimed this to be one of their favs and I had to wonder if we were talking the same wine because I respect the palates of those who ranked it high. (3943 views) | | | Tasted by nywine68 on 10/25/2016 & rated 97 points: 1978 California with John Gilman (Craft): Beautiful, smokey and fruity. 1978 Cali Cab Tasting (4567 views) | | | Tasted by Vinnut on 1/10/2016 & rated 94 points: Medium reddish-garnet in color with slight amber & clearing at the edges. Forward, fragrant & attractive nose of developed, mature & complex, ripe fruit aromas of cherries, blueberries & cassis with cedar & floral overtones, spices, dark cocoa, dried herbs, a bit of earthiness, dusty, truffles, bell pepper, tobacco, minerals, smoky with hints of oak & vanilla. Medium-full bodied with a very good concentration of well balanced, smooth textured & elegant, well-integrated, mature, ripe fruit flavors of dark cherries, blueberries & plums, dark cocoa, herbs, spices, earthy, mushrooms, with hints of oak & vanilla. Long lingering & smooth finish. At its peak of development & drinks quite well at present but has the structure & fruit to last a few more years longer although I doubt any further development would occur. (4015 views) | | | Tasted by fcxj on 11/3/2015 & rated 88 points: Soy sauce nose. (3949 views) | | | Tasted by lepetitchateau on 6/23/2015 & rated 95 points: Nice acid bite and lift - lighter than the Ridge Monte Bellos we tasted from the 1990s and 1980s, more grace and purity while showing less succulence and big obvious fruit. This is delicious wine and shows more complexity and depth than the typical Monte Bello. (4534 views) | | | Tasted by dcwino on 10/30/2014 & rated 91 points: Cali Cab Dinner with 10+ Years of Age - 02 HSS, 04 Levy, 01 Madronna and etc. (Charlie Palmer - Washington DC): Noticeably green nose, lean black fruits, ash, lead pencil and bell pepper. Medium concentration, mineral, ash and a hint of tannins. Although extremely youthful, I found the wine to be a bit too lean for my palate. My guess was the 91 Philip Togni cab. (5384 views) | | | Tasted by anonymoose12345 on 9/20/2013 & rated 92 points: Lovely. Well balanced. Lively. Complex. Lots of life. (5644 views) | | | Tasted by indiscriminate palate on 5/24/2013 & rated 94 points: Earthy and herbal, with bright cherries and light spice on the beautiful nose. Palate loaded with deep, dark cherry, herbs; medium acidity, fully resolved tannin. Sweet wood. Lovely. (4885 views) | | | Tasted by indiscriminate palate on 4/12/2013 & rated 93 points: Four bottles with varying luck. Overall, red fruited (cassis, raspberry), lots of earthy herbal elements, and quite brambly. Earthy and herbal. Great complexity. Fully resolved tannin and medium acid. Excellent aged cab, with oak, spice, cedar, some leather, and a great length. Yum.
First bottle: excellent showing! (95)
Second: lasted only minutes with sediment distributed among the glasses. GRRRRRRR.
Third: faulty. Nothing overt, but muted fruit that never really showed.
Fourth: very good, though not exceptional like the first. (92) (4784 views) | | | Tasted by indiscriminate palate on 3/2/2013: Dinner at David's (Very brief retroactive notes): See later note indicating some bottle variation. This one showed fairly fresh, earthy, brambly, with good complexity and fairly long finish. At peak. (4350 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| By John Gilman
View From the Cellar, Sep/Oct 2021, Issue #95, Recently-Tasted American Wines Autumn 2021
(Cabernet Sauvignon “Monte Bello”- Ridge Vineyards (Santa Cruz Mountains)) Login and sign up and see review text. | By Jancis Robinson, MW
JancisRobinson.com (6/17/2017)
(Ridge, Monte Bello Santa Cruz Mountains Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By John Gilman
View From the Cellar, Jan/Feb 2017, Issue #67, The Magnificent 1978 Vintage of California Cabernet Sauvignon
(Ridge Vineyards “Monte Bello” Cabernet Sauvignon (Santa Cruz Mountains)) Login and sign up and see review text. | By Antonio Galloni
Vinous, Ridge Monte Bello Revisited: 1968 – 2012 (Jul 2016) (7/1/2016)
(Ridge Cabernet Sauvginon Monte Bello Central Coast) Subscribe to see review text. | By Jancis Robinson, MW
JancisRobinson.com (10/21/2015)
(Ridge, Monte Bello Santa Cruz Mountains Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Jancis Robinson, MW
JancisRobinson.com (6/18/2010)
(Ridge, Monte Bello Santa Cruz Mountains Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Jancis Robinson, MW
JancisRobinson.com (3/2/2010)
(Ridge, Monte Bello Santa Cruz Mountains Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By John Gilman
View From the Cellar, Jul/Aug 2008, Issue #16, The Golden Age of California Cabernet Part Two
(Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello) Login and sign up and see review text. | By Richard Jennings
RJonWine.com (6/17/2011)
(Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon Monte Bello) Bricked medium garnet red color with pale meniscus; mature, weedy, soy sauce, cooked herbs, tart cassis nose; tasty, mature, tart cassis, tart raspberry, soy sauce, cedar, seaweed palate with good structure; should go 10-plus years or more; long finish 92 92 points | By Richard Jennings
RJonWine.com (10/1/2003)
(Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon Monte Bello) Raisiny, chlorine nose; good, minty, cherry fruit; totally resolved tannins and a long cherry and a caramel finish 93+ pts. 93 points |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of View From the Cellar and JancisRobinson.com and Vinous and RJonWine.com. (manage subscription channels) |
| Ridge Producer website | Wikipedia
Ridge Vineyards is a California winery specializing in premium Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, and Chardonnay wines. Ridge produces wine at two winery locations in northern California. The original winery facilities are located at an elevation of 2,300 feet (700 m) on Monte Bello Ridge in the Santa Cruz Mountains AVA near Cupertino, California. The other Ridge winery facilities are at Lytton Springs in the Dry Creek Valley AVA of Sonoma County.Cabernet SauvignonCabernet Sauvignon is probably the most famous red wine grape variety on Earth. It is rivaled in this regard only by its Bordeaux stablemate Merlot, and its opposite number in Burgundy, Pinot Noir. From its origins in Bordeaux, Cabernet has successfully spread to almost every winegrowing country in the world. It is now the key grape variety in many first-rate New World wine regions, most notably Napa Valley, Coonawarra and Maipo Valley. Wherever they come from, Cabernet Sauvignon wines always seem to demonstrate a handful of common character traits: deep color, good tannin structure, moderate acidity and aromas of blackcurrant, tomato leaf, dark spices and cedarwood.
Used as frequently in blends as in varietal wines, Cabernet Sauvignon has a large number of common blending partners. Apart from the obvious Merlot and Cabernet Franc, the most prevalent of these are Malbec, Petit Verdot and Carmenere (the ingredients of a classic Bordeaux Blend), Shiraz (in Australia's favorite blend) and in Spain and South America, a Cabernet – Tempranillo blend is now commonplace. Even the bold Tannat-based wines of Madiran are now generally softened with Cabernet SauvignonMonte Bello On weinlagen-infoUSAAmerican wine has been produced since the 1500s, with the first widespread production beginning in New Mexico in 1628. Today, wine production is undertaken in all fifty states, with California producing 84% of all U.S. wine. The continent of North America is home to several native species of grape, including Vitis labrusca, Vitis riparia, Vitis rotundifolia, and Vitis vulpina, but the wine-making industry is based almost entirely on the cultivation of the European Vitis vinifera, which was introduced by European settlers. With more than 1,100,000 acres (4,500 km2) under vine, the United States is the fourth-largest wine producing country in the world, after Italy, Spain, and France.California2021 vintage: "Unlike almost all other areas of the state, the Russian River Valley had higher than normal crops in 2021, which has made for a wine of greater generosity and fruit forwardness than some of its stablemates." - Morgan Twain-Peterson Santa Cruz Mountains Santa Cruz Mountains Winegrowers Association | Wikipedia
Once referred to by wine writers as the Chaine d'Or -- or "golden chain" -- the Santa Cruz Mountains AVA sits above Silicon Valley, running along the craggy range next to the Pacific on some of the prettiest parts of Northern California. The area supports more than 75 wineries, despite being limited by geography and high land prices.
In 1981 the Santa Cruz Mountains Viticultural Appellation became federally recognized, one of the first American viticultural areas to be defined by geophysical and climatic factors. The appellation encompasses the Santa Cruz Mountain range, from Half Moon Bay in the north, to Mount Madonna in the south. The east and west boundaries are defined by elevation, extending down to 800 feet in the east and 400 feet in the west. |
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